Overnight to 05/02/2015 attempt made to gain entry to a business premises in the village. This incident linked with a similar burglary in Amesbury whereby a safe stolen was subsequently abandoned on farmland at East Grafton.

20/03/2015 criminal damage caused to a parked vehicle to move it away from entrance to a barn – plant equipment stolen.

10/04/2015 Forced entry to an outbuilding, Long Drove, power tools and fishing equipment stolen.

16/04/2015 Forced entry to two containers – disc cutters stolen

17/04/2015 Further incident at same location – power tools removed.

21/04/2015 Forced entry to farm outbuilding at Savernake, removal of Kubota farm vehicle, driven to rural location near Ham where it would appear to have ran out of fuel. The vehicle was then set alight and destroyed. Two explosions heard at approximately 0330 hours, tyres exploding.

28/04/2015 Attempt made to gain entry to a metal storage container.

The Pewsey and Marlborough villages are currently experiencing a series of these offences. A number of interventions by other teams and departments are ongoing in relation to these investigations and enquiries are continuing.

Please review your security to outbuildings, consider additional locks, alarms, lighting, gating and perimeter fencing. Ditching, for example is very effective in relation to rural locations where suspects have accessed scenes across farmland. Target hardening with victims and landowners is ongoing.

Please also mark your property – consider systems such as Smartwater which provides a unique identification code or etch additional markings such as postcodes onto machinery.

Please also report ANY suspicious activity, persons or vehicles, as it is occurring, this enables officers to be tasked, but also provides intelligence of events in our community. We have experienced success in recent months in relation to a large investigation by CID concerning individuals involved in conspiring to steal from premises within this area, countywide and further afield.

Attempt distraction burglary

Between 1100-1130/18/08/2014 an unknown male visited an elderly local resident, he identified himself as a plain clothed Police officer and requested entry to their property, none gained. Described as white ethnicity, 30s, 5’5” height, slim build, short mousy brown hair, wearing a jacket, trousers and shoes. Two further incidents of this nature subsequently occurred in Swindon.

Suspicious activity/cold calling

1238/10/09/2014 following a report from a vigilant member of this community who saw an unknown male approach two elderly persons properties Police attended scene, via bicycle and located a well known nominal, recently released from Prison who had been cold calling for gardening work. Male arrested on suspicion of theft of power tools. He had also breached the conditions of his licence.

Cold calling

15/01/2015 two males located in Burbage High Street calling door to door without Pedlars Certificates, reported for summons. These males were part of a larger group who had travelled from the north of the country to engage in this activity in our local villages. Please report all sightings of such activity to us, we are eager to identify who is in our community and deal with offences identified. They do have links with organised crime groups.

Wiltshire County Council recently launched ‘No cold calling zones’ which I reported on at a Parish meeting a few months ago. Essentially areas within communities are identified, with signage as ‘No cold calling zones’ to inform visitors that the activity is not permitted.

Between 1930/14/01/2015 – 2200/15/01/2015 theft of a 4 x 4 Mitsubishi from Westcourt. The vehicle was subsequently found, on farmland, near Shalbourne, on its roof extensively damaged, its wheels had also been removed.

Theft from vehicles

Between 1245-1306/11/11/2014 forced entry to a parked and unattended vehicle at East Sands, handbag and shopping removed. The handbag was recovered at Collingbourne Kingston and an attempt made to use a card at a cashpoint in Tidworth occurred with thirty minutes of the theft. The vehicle involved was identified to be a white Mitsubishi Evo, with gold alloy wheels and a large spoiler.

We do experience thefts from vehicles at our beauty spots including Wilton Windmill and Martinsell. Never leave valuables in unattended vehicles. You are being watched.

Between 1800/13/01/2015 – 0730/14/01/2015 theft of side and rear panels to a Ford Transit van.

More recently we experienced theft of a chain saw from a parked vehicle.

Theft

Several incidents of theft have been reported since last May, including a wheelbarrow from a rear garden, a Wiltshire Air Ambulance charity box from a local pub and theft of a disc cutter from a new build property site.

Criminal damage

Prior to 25/09/2014 denting caused to metal cladding of business premises.

Between 23/01/2015 – 06/02/2015 two incidents of damage caused to property within the village church.

Two incidents of criminal damage to farmland and fencing cut on 28/04/2015 and 01/05/2015.

Policing operations

Rural crime

Three events have occurred within this area during the past twelve months – April, August and December 2014, in partnership with volunteers from our communities and partner agencies. Resulting in stop searches of persons and vehicles, intelligence gathering and offences identified including the use of red diesel in fuel tanks.

Road safety day

November 2014 Pewsey and Marlborough NPT, including two local sites in this parish, resulting in 83 verbal warnings to motorists re excess speed, 22 fixed penalty notices, 1 vehicle seized and one person reported for summons for no insurance.

Drugs operations

Several events conducted within the past year, working with Tidworth NPT, using intelligence, executing warrants, arrests on suspicion of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply and cannabis street warnings issued.

Latest crime statistics for the area

These have been showing a reduction in recorded crime over the previous twelve month period, however in recent weeks there has been an increase in criminal activity throughout the area. The ongoing target hardening measures and partnership working with communities and other agencies is a positive factor.

EC11 Pewsey East

Crime

Detections*

12 Months to April 2014

12 Months to April 2015

Volume Change

% Change

12 Months to April 2014

12 Months to April 2015

Victim Based Crime

177

166

-11

-6.2%

12%

11%

Domestic Burglary

13

8

-5

-38.5%

23%

25%

Non Domestic Burglary

43

37

-6

-14.0%

2%

0%

Vehicle Crime

29

28

-1

-3.4%

10%

4%

Criminal Damage & Arson

22

38

+16

+72.7%

14%

8%

Violence Against The Person

24

15

-9

-37.5%

33%

67%

ASB Incidents

85

64

-21

-24.7%

Community messaging

Please sign up for our free messaging system, if you have not done so already – to receive email, text and voicemail messages in relation to policing and crime in our area. This system is a development from the Neighbourhood Watch System.